US close: Stocks little changed, but S&P 500 nears record high

(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished little changed on Thursday as speculation continued to ramp up ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting, though the third straight gain for the S&P 500 sent the index to its highest level since late October.

The S&P 500, up just 0.1% on the day at 6,857.12, registered its highest close since 29 October when it reached 6,890.59 (which was just 0.30 points shy of the 6,890.89 all-time closing high set the previous session).

The Nasdaq finished 0.2% higher, also notching its third consecutive day in the green, while the Dow slipped 0.1%, pulling back after hitting a three-week high on Wednesday.

Stocks put in decent gains the previous session after weak ADP private payroll figures pointed to softness in the labour market, fuelling expectations that the Fed would move to ease policy at its 10 December meeting. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets have now priced in an 89% chance of a cut.

"The focus remains firmly on next week's Fed decision, with a cut now viewed as all but a certainty," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.

Investors also continued to monitor developments on US tariff policy after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the New York Times that the White House could revive its tariff agenda under provisions of the 1962 Trade Act, even if the current structure fails to secure approval in a pending Supreme Court case.

Labour market data in focus

Layoffs announced by US employers dropped sharply in November, with Challenger, Gray & Christmas reporting planned job cuts fell 53% monthonmonth to 71,321 - though the figure was still 24% higher than the same time a year earlier and the largest November total since 2022. Yeartodate, US companies have announced around 1.17m cuts, up 54% on the same period in 2024, while hiring intentions remained subdued, with just 497,151 planned additions as businesses grappled with tariffs and slowing demand.

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims dropped by 27,000 to 191,000 last week, marking the fourth straight decline to hit its lowest in more than three years. This was well below market expectations of 220,000. Continuing claims fell 4,000 to 1.93m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, contracted by 9,500 to 214,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.3%.

Finally, US factory orders rose 0.2% month-on-month in September, according to the Census Bureau, following a downwardly revised 1.3% increase in August and missing estimates of a 0.5% uptick.

US retailers in the spotlight

Shares in Dollar General surged 14% after the American discount retailer raised its full-year outlook on the back of a strong third-quarter sales performance. The company said it now expects net sales for the fiscal year ending 30 January 2026 to rise by 4.7% to 4.9%, ahead of previous guidance of 4.3-4.8% growth, while ernings per share are expected to come in at $6.30-6.50, ahead of previous guidance of $5.80-6.30.

In contrast, big-box retailer Kroger swung to a loss of $1.54bn in its third quarter, compared with a $618m profit the year before, as rising costs offset an increase in sales, causing shares to drop 5%. Operating, general and administrative expenses totalled $8.47bn for the quarter, up from $5.90bn previously, mainly due to the sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy and investments in associate wages and benefits, the company said.

Among the tech giants, Amazon fell 1% on reports it is considering a major overhaul of its US delivery operations that could end its longstanding partnership with the US Postal Service and shift billions of parcels into its own expanding logistics network.

Meanwhile, Meta gained 3% after Bloomberg cited insiders saying that the social media company was looking to make big cuts in its Metaverse budget. The news outlet said the cuts, which will likely include layoffs, could come as early as January, and follow more than $60bn of investment into the Reality Labs division since 2020.

"With so much cash going into AI, companies have been forced to demonstrate their ability to cut costs in other parts of the business to offset some of the mega spend," said AJ Bell's head of financial analysis Danni Hewson. "It could be that Mark Zuckerberg's vision will eventually confound us all and AI could be the tool that ultimately helps that vision become reality. But with investors so nervous about spending this move seems smart, if a little late in the day."

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $247.46 3.66%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $307.99 1.77%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.26 1.45%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $599.15 1.30%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $316.10 1.27%

American Express Co. (AXP) $371.09 0.82%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $480.84 0.65%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $152.26 0.44%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $114.84 0.38%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $308.54 0.27%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $40.50 -7.45%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $22.87 -3.75%

3M Co. (MMM) $169.27 -2.21%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $351.17 -1.88%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $333.49 -1.83%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $340.16 -1.52%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $202.48 -1.39%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $100.78 -1.35%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $280.70 -1.21%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $145.36 -0.92%

S&P 500 - Risers

Dollar General Corp (DG) $125.29 14.01%

Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $47.24 4.30%

Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $24.17 3.82%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $247.46 3.66%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $161.04 3.50%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $661.53 3.43%

Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $63.66 3.43%

Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) $25.21 3.36%

Fluor Corp. (FLR) $45.34 3.18%

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $214.33 3.18%

S&P 500 - Fallers

PVH Corp. (PVH) $77.16 -11.87%

CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $8.78 -8.25%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $40.50 -7.45%

LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $43.16 -6.24%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $118.31 -5.81%

Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $126.75 -4.79%

Celanese Corp. (CE) $39.81 -4.78%

Kroger Co. (KR) $63.14 -4.62%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $125.72 -4.42%

Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $43.69 -3.98%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $161.04 3.50%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $661.53 3.43%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $265.63 2.69%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $115.87 2.61%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $195.83 2.48%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $663.08 2.38%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $183.38 2.11%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $64.72 1.75%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $454.53 1.74%

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $41.75 1.29%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $8.98 -8.37%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $40.50 -7.45%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $125.72 -4.42%

Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $296.00 -3.47%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $226.65 -3.21%

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $895.85 -2.86%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,110.08 -2.70%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $85.00 -2.42%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $533.95 -1.94%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $122.62 -1.90%